Telephone directory unit and secretary



April 9, 1935. J. G. HUNTER 1,996,767

' TELEPHONE DIRECTORY UNIT AND SECRETARY I v Filed March 12. 1 54 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aprxl 9, 1935. J. G. HUNTER TELEPHONE DIRECTORY UNIT AND SECRETARY Filed March 12; 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 la'wl lilll L"; Hunter Patented Apr. 9, 1 935 'rELErnoNE nmEo'ron um'r AND SECRETARY I John G. Hunter, Columbus, Ohio Application March 12, 1934, Serial No. 715,205

6'Claims.

My present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in telephone directory secretaries of the kind described in.my applications for Letters Patent, Ser. No. 623,895 and Ser.

No. 640,716, and it particularly has for its object to provide a unit adapted for inclusion in a regular secretary to provide for the care of telephone directories and/or accessories and conveniences,

a unit which may also be built into a secretary I in the first instance.

The invention also has for its object to provide means properly to illuminate the directory and the accessories, as well as the adjacent parts of the secretary and the dial of the telephone contained within the secretary. v

An object of the invention is to prbvide the unit with a casing which includes a bottom, a top, side and back walls and an open front formed to be closed by a rocking leaf and a front bar on a slide which carries an open directory and which may be pulled out for reference; a further object is to provide the rocking leaf with means whereby it can be automatically lowered toward an approximately horizontal position forthe pur-' pose of exposing one or more shelves within the casing, on which shelves telephone directories may be stored, the rocking leaf serving to support certain accessories or conveniences, such as a calendar, a telephone memorandum pad, a

scratch pad and a receptacle for pencils and/or other articles. A further object is to provide such a means as will also return the rocking leaf to its casing closing position when the telephonedirectory-carrying slide is pushed in.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means controlled by and according to the position of the slide for turning on and off a light bulb, according as the slide is partly drawn out or pushed in, the bulb cooperating with suitable reflectors for illuminating the exposed face of the leaf and the exposed portions of the slide and the directory carried thereby, as well as to illuminate the side compartments of the secretary in one of which a telephone may be placed.

Other objects will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter.

To the attainment of the aforesaid objects and ends, the invention still further resides in the novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, all of which willbe first fully described in the following detailed description and then be particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my ehrsu'rorr cs invention as a complete secretary, the telephone directory housing unit being shown in the closed position.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the telephone-directory-carrying slide drawn out. 5

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail central vertical cross section taken approximately on the line 33 of Figure 2 with the secretary open and the slide drawn out (shown in full lines) and the slide closed in (shown in doted lines). s11Figure 4 is an inverted perspective view of the Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view showing how the light reflector transmits the rays laterally and downwardly.

Figure 6 is a light circuit diagram.-

Figure 7 is a detail view of a slight modification hereinafter referred to.

In the drawings in which like numerals of reference designate like parts in all the figures, l represents a suitable base which may be an integral part of the secretary if the telephone directory unit is built in. 2 designates the side walls, 3 the top and 4 the back wall of-the unit.

Located within the unit are shelves 5, 6 and I. 25 Y The side walls 2 of the unit are provided with suitably formed guide grooves 8 in which the mounting pins ill on the under side of the swinging leaf 9 ride. Adjacent the lower end of the swinging leaf 9 it is provided with arms ll whose lower ends I2 ride in grooves iii in the slide M. This slide fits between the side walls 2 and is adapted to be drawn out of the casing or pushed back into position within the casing according as the unit is to be used or not. 35 Hinged at Hi to the slide it adjacent the front edge thereof is a front panel i5 which may be swung forwardly until it engages a suitable stop strip I! that prevents the panel from dropping down too far, i. e., to a position where its pull knob may strike the desk 29.

The base I is provided with a groove I 8 to cooperate with a stop pin l9 that is carried by the slide l4 whereby the outward movement of the slide may be arrested while its rear edge remains located within the casing between the side walls 2.

In order to prevent the slide jamming in pulling it out or pushing it in, I provide grooves 20 on the under side of the slide to receive guide rails 2| that are secured to the base I within the unit's casing. a

22 is a cleat secured across the upper face of the slide l4 at a suitable distance from the panel ii to cooperate with the panel for the purpose of retaining an open telephone directory in position on the slide.

The swinging leaf 9 on its outer face carries suitable accessories, such as a calendar 23, a telephone memorandum pad 24, a scratch pad 25 and a holder 26 for pencils and/or other articles.

In order that the movements of the slide may not scratch the surfaces of the base I and the desk 29, I preferably provide 'felt strips 21 on the under side of the slide (see Figure 4).

The parts numbered l to 21 constitute a telephone directory unit which may be employed alone or which may form part of a secretary combination. In the latter event the base of the unit and the back wall 4 thereof may constitute parts of the secretary. The secretary also includes a top 28, sides 43 and a door-deskimember 29 (preferably of the drop type). The door-desk 29 when of the drop type may be pivoted at 30 to the side walls 43 so that it may be held horizontally as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, or swung up, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3 to close the front of the secretary. A suitable brace 3| 'serves to support the door 29 in the horizontal position (see Figures 1 and 2).

32 is a panel in front of and above the secretary unit and behind this panel is located a suitable reflector 33, including sides 34 for reflecting the light from a bulb 35 downwardly onto the leaf 9 and laterally to the sides of the unit to illuminate the dial of a telephone contained in one of the side compartments of the secretary. The lamp bulb is carried by a suitable bracket 36 and is in an electric circuit which also includes a burglaralarm-type switch 31 that normally tends to close the circuit, but which will open the circuit by the slides engaging the switch arm when fully pushed in to break the contact as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6. Thus as soon as the slide I4 is moved slightly outwardly the light circuit will be closed and remain closed so long as the slide is not fully pushed in.

When the unit is built into a secretary it is preferable that it be of less width than the width of the secretary so as to leave a least one side compartment 39 for the reception of a telephone 40. The secretary may be designed with two side compartments as shown in Figures 1 and 2, in which event the second side compartment may contain a suitable file rack 4| and drawers 38 may be located at the tops of the side compartments. When a file rack 4| is included it is preferably spaced above thebase to leave a space 42 in which ink bottles and other articles may be placed.

While I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is obvious that changes in the details of construction, form, arrangement and proportion of parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the detailsof construction, save in so far as they may be specifically limited in the appended claims.

From the foregoing the manner of operation of my invention will be clearly understood by reference to Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. When the slide is pushed all the way in, as in Figure 1, or in dotted lines in Figure 3, the leaf 9 will cooperate with the panel l5 to constitute a closure for the front of the unit, as well as to serve as-a support for the various accessories, 23 to 26 inclusive. As the slide is pulled out, however, the leaf Q'is swungforwardly and downwardly by engagement of the rear ends of the grooves l3 with the ends I! of the arms H until the leaf assumes theposition shown in Figures 2 and 3. On returning the slide the ends H of the arms I I are engaged by theslide I4 at the forward ends of the grooves I3 and pushed from left to right in Figure 3, this action causing the pins I 0 toride up the guide grooves 8 and swing the-leaf 9 back to the position shown in Figure 1. By arranging the switch 31 to close the circuit just as soon as the slide is moved slightly forward it will cause the light to illuminate the front of the leaf 9 and the accessories supported thereon without having to pull the slide out far enough to expose the open directory, as the user may not wish to consult the directory but simply use one or another of the accessories and/or the telephone.

Instead of providing the stop strip ll the edges of the parts I43: and l5a: may be bevelled as at Ha: (see Figure 7) to stop the outward movement of the member Him, as shown in dotted lines in Figure'l. In Figure 7 the parts which correspond to similar parts in the preceding figure bear the same reference numeral plus the index letter 3:.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it is thought that the construction, operation and advantages of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

l. A telephone directory cabinet unit comprising a case having a bottom, a top, sides and a back, a slide formed to lie within the case and to be extended therefrom and having provisions to support a telephone directory in open position, an upstanding panel on the outer end of said slide, a leaf constituting a support for accessories and functioning in cooperation with said panel as a closure for the front of said case, and means for operatively connecting said slide and said leaf so that said leaf is swung toward an approximately horizontal position to open the front of said case as said slide is pulled out and is returned to its closure position as the slide is pushed in.

2. A telephone directory cabinet unit comprising a case having a bottom, a top, sides and a back, a slide formed to lie within the case and to be extended therefrom and having provisions to support a telephone directory in open position, an upstanding panel on the outer end of said slide, a leaf constituting asupport for accessories and functioning in cooperation with said panel as a closure for the front of said case, and means for mounting said leaf so as to swing the same toward an approximately horizontal position to open the front of said case as said slide is pulled out and to reverse the movement of the leaf as the slide is pushed in, said last-named means comprising guide-ways in the case, guide-pins on the leaf, and sliding connections'between the leaf and said slide.

3. A case having an open front, a slide fitting in the bottom of said case and adapted to be drawn outwardly therefrom, means to limit the distance to which said slide may be pulled out, a front panel on said slide constituting a part of a. front closure for said case when said slide is pushed in, a cleat on said slide separated from said front panel a distance suflicient to receive an open telephone directory between said cleat and front panel, a leaf constituting with said panel the front closure for said case, means for pivotally and slidably mounting said leaf on said case and on said slide so that as said slide is to the closed position, the exposed face of the leaf being adapted to serve as a mount for accessories.

4. In a secretary having a. front door which when open constitutes a desk, a telephone directory unit located within said secretary, said unit comprising a case having a bottom, a top, sides and a. back, a slide formed to lie within the case and to be extended therefrom and having provisions to support a telephone directory in open position, an upstanding panel on" the outer end of said slide, a leaf constituting 'a support for accessories and functioning in cooperation with said panel as a closure for the front of said'case, and means operatively connecting said slide and said leaf so that said slide is swung toward an approximately horizontal pomtion to open the front of said case as said slide is pulled out and is returned to its closure position as the slide is pushed in, said door serving in part to support said slide when the same has been pulled out.

5. In a secretary having a front door which when open constitutes a desk, a telephone directory unit located within said secretary, said unit comprising a case having an open front, a slide fitting in the bottom of said case and adapted to be drawn outwardly therefrom, means to limit receive an open telephone directory betweensaid cleat and front panel, a leaf constituting with said panel the front closm-e for said case, means for pivotally and slidably mounting said leaf on said case and on said slide so that as said slide is pulled out said leaf is moved to an open posi-- tion and as said slide is pushed in said leaf is moved to the closed position, the exposed face of the leaf being adapted to serve as a mount for accessories, said door serving in part tosupport said slide when the same has been pulled out.

6. A case having an open front, a slide fitting in the bottom of said case and adapted to be drawn outwardly therefrom, means on said slide for locating a telephone directory in open position thereon, means forming a closure for the front of said case, said means including a leaf,-

means pivptally and slidably mounting said leaf on said case in cooperation with said slide so that as said slide is pulled out said leaf is moved to an open position and as said slide is pushed in said leaf is moved to the closed position.

JOHN G; HUNTER. 

